The mystery caller to Shedeur Sanders during NFL Draft was the son of NFL coach

ATLANTA — This might be one of the weirdest things to happen in sports.

By now, most sports fans are familiar with the Cleveland Browns drafting the former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

Shedeur, once considered a first-round pick, did not have his name called Thursday or Friday night.

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On Friday, Sanders received a phone call that he thought might be someone picking him to play football for them.

Turns out, it was a prank.

Our sister station, WSB TV in Atlanta, reports that Jax Ulbrich made the call. He is the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

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Tom Pelissero from the NFL Network reports that the team released a statement on Sunday.

The Falcons said that Jax got the number off an open iPad after he wrote it down and made the call.

“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, whom we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.”

We have been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office."

Statement from the #Falcons on the involvement of DC Jeff Ulbrich’s son, Jax, in the viral draft weekend prank call to Shedeur Sanders: pic.twitter.com/yKyE6DQwq5
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 27, 2025

Jax Ulbrich also released a statement on social media.

“On Friday, I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. I’m so sorry I took away from your moment; it was selfish and childish. I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life, and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. Thank you for accepting my call earlier (Sunday), I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”